Context and setting Professionalism is an important domain in undergraduate medical education. Throughout their years of study, medical students grow to appreciate their experiences of the learning environment and the ways in which the health care workers surrounding them influence their behaviour. Learning professionalism in the wards is a major requirement for undergraduates at the International Medical University Malaysia (IMU). Role-modelling remains one of the most effective means of imparting professionalism to undergraduate students. Why the idea was necessary Professional bodies and medical councils worldwide have made recommendations on both content and delivery in order that the teaching of professionalism should be made explicit and effective, rather than kept under wraps in the hidden curriculum. During the final 6 months of undergraduate training in IMU, medical students are posted to a district general hospital. They follow clinical ward rounds, clerking patients and planning the appropriate clinical management of patients using mock clerking sheets. This phase of their training provides many opportunities to learn and reflect upon elements of ethics and professionalism in their practice. What was done Final-year medical students are required to learn and understand the definitions of ethics and professionalism. While posted to the district hospital, during day-to-day practice on the ward, they are required to observe the behaviour of doctors on the ward and to identify any issues of professionalism. They are required to reflect upon these issues and then to discuss them with their teachers. The students are required to identify people whom they think are good role models. At the end of the 6-month period, all the students are required to provide feedback on their observational findings. Evaluation of results and impact A total of 66 students took part in this learning activity. Of these, 41 (62%) were able to give good definitions of professionalism, such as: ‘… the enactment of the values and ideals of individuals [i.e. doctors] to serve individuals and populations whose care is essential to the practice of medicine, prioritising the interests of those they serve above their own.’ Among the major domains of professionalism identified by students were: the provision of adequate information to the patient and his or her family (93%); the treatment of patients without influence by the ethnicity, religion or financial status of the patient (84%); being non-judgemental towards the patient’s family (83%); respect for other health care workers (83%), and respect for the patient’s wishes (71%). Senior medical academicians, senior hospital specialists and junior medical officers were considered as major role models by 54%, 12% and 6%, respectively, of the students. Most students (99%) indicated that role models had influenced their academic and personal characters. This exercise stimulated final-year clinical students to reflect upon the basic principles of professionalism in clinical practice and helped the students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of professionalism in daily practice. It also gave them the opportunity to realise the extent to which health care providers in the ward impact on others as role models. Similarly, after graduating, it appears that they themselves will be regarded as role models by medical students if they behave professionally.